Wife is looking at a 2009 Ninja 650R tomorrow.

[GeorgiaRoller]

My wife road a couple HD bikes for about 7yrs or so but has been without her own bike for 2yrs. She's ready to ride again and we went and looked first at the Yamaha FZ6R. We kind of wanted to stay in the Yamaha family and she really likes the look of the FZ6R. We don't want to buy brand new but we've been looking for either 2009 or 2010 models.

We went to the local metric dealer last weekend so she could sit on one. She's about 5'-6" and 120-125lbs. We looked at it for quite a long time, she sat on it several times...etc. For whatever reason the footpegs are in a weird position when she would be at a stop sign. Seems like her pant leg would always get hung up on the pegs and she'd either have to move her feet unnaturally forward or behind the footpegs. Also it seemed like she could really use another 1" or more of handlebar pullback. The 2012 model she was sitting on already had the adjustable seat at the lowest position & handlebars at this max. position backwards. Other than that she liked the bike. I mentioned we can get her some handlebar risers and drop the rear end an 1" or so and that might clear up those issues.

Then I noticed this other bike next to it, a Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Basically the exact same bike just a Kaw. I said why don't you try sitting on this one and see how it feels? Funny because just by me watching her body position she seemed way more natural and relaxed on this bike. The footpeg location is not an issue and her upper body seemed more relaxed. She confirmed that by saying it did actually seem to fit her much better.

I don't really know anything about these bikes but I see they did a makeover on this bike in 2009 and supposedly made several improvements on it over the 2006-2008 models. While it would be nice to have two Yamaha's what I'm much more interested in is helping her get a bike that fits her the best & one that she'd be the most comfortable & confident on.

So anyways we found a 2009 Ninja 650R from the original owner about an hour away from us with only 700 miles on it and he's asking $4,500.00 We're gonna go look at it tomorrow and see what happens. Here are his ad. pictures for it. It's completely stock.

Opinions?

 

[Kevin_Ireland]

When my wife was looking for a bike last year I steered her towards the FZ6 also. Had the same issues with it. My wife is 5'4-5". Next she looked at a gsx650f. She liked it better but thought it was a little too heavy. Next we looked at a Ninja 650r. She liked how it looked but it was a bit too tall and she said it just didn't feel right. I tried to narrow down the problem but she would just say "I don't know, just something about it". In the end she went back to the gsx650f. She road it all summer and loves it. She doesn't even want to move over to another bike. I fitted her bike with givi side bags so she has plenty of room to pack for trips (more than I have on the FJR) Most of the time she keeps the bags off the bike. A co-worker has a 650r and he likes it and I don't think he has any problems with it.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

+1 on the little GSX650F...great bike, kinda like a FJRlite®. :clapping:

 

[ynotride]

My wife is the same height and weight as your and she loves her 2007 650R. We got it back in 2009 for $3000 and it had 2600 miles on it. She just passed the 18,000 mile mark last weekend.

 

[TwoWhldTerror]

GeorgiaRoller....interesting dilemma you have, especially as I have almost the exact opposite. What I mean by that is that my wife owned a first year model FZ6 and really liked it, even rode it to Montreal, Canada and back with me on our "mega bike trip". She only wished it had more power and was looking at a liter bike before we got out of bikes for the past few years. Being 5'7" tall and around 130lbs my wife did not have the foot peg problem, as I said her only complaint was power.

Roll forward and I buy another FJR to replace the last one I sold those many years ago and I talk to the wife about her bike and she now wants a HD! LOL She really likes the looks of a FatBob but has not ridden one yet. So now we are hunting for a bike that will cost TWICE what my FJR did...oh well at least she will be on two wheels!

If I recall you are Griffin correct? I am in Locust Grove. We need to get together sometime and introduce the ladies to one another. My wife would appreciate hanging with another "biker girl".

 

[Steel_Gin]

Happy wife happy life.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

When my wife was looking for a bike last year I steered her towards the FZ6 also. Had the same issues with it....In the end she went back to the gsx650f.

I don't doubt that all three bikes, the Suzuki 650F, the Yamaha FZ6R & the Kaw 650R are all probably good bikes. I guess it just comes down to which one feels the best for each of our ladies. Based on looks and brand she wants the Yamaha...but she always wants the best fit for herself.

My wife is the same height and weight as your and she loves her 2007 650R. We got it back in 2009 for $3000 and it had 2600 miles on it. She just passed the 18,000 mile mark last weekend.

She's got the Ninja? Have you had to replace the chain & sprockets yet? Sounds like she's putting some nice miles on it!

GeorgiaRoller....interesting dilemma you have, especially as I have almost the exact opposite. What I mean by that is that my wife owned a first year model FZ6 and really liked it....her only complaint was power.

Roll forward and I buy another FJR to replace the last one I sold those many years ago and I talk to the wife about her bike and she now wants a HD! LOL She really likes the looks of a FatBob but has not ridden one yet. So now we are hunting for a bike that will cost TWICE what my FJR did...oh well at least she will be on two wheels!

If I recall you are Griffin correct? I am in Locust Grove. We need to get together sometime and introduce the ladies to one another. My wife would appreciate hanging with another "biker girl".

I'm down in Barnesville so your not much more than 30 minutes from us.

Yeah you got the opposite problem all right. Tell your wife if she isn't happy with the power on a 600cc sportbike she's really gonna be upset if she gets a HD! :blink:

My wife had a HD 883L first then a customized 2007 HD StreetBob. It had the 96cu in motor which is 1584cc V-Twin that weighs 634lbs. It fit her well and she rode it well. But bikes like those are not really for riding the curves in the mountains and doing 400+ mile day rides or overnight rides which is what we both like to do. So now that I've gotten away from cruisers myself and have joined and I am enjoying the Sport Touring world she says she's ready to get a bike that's similar. She wants a sportier bike (non HD) that handles well and has sport suspension...etc.

Here's her with her old StreetBob...she's not interested in Harleys anymore! LOL

 

[ahchiu]

When my wife was looking for a bike last year I steered her towards the FZ6 also. Had the same issues with it....In the end she went back to the gsx650f.

I don't doubt that all three bikes, the Suzuki 650F, the Yamaha FZ6R & the Kaw 650R are all probably good bikes. I guess it just comes down to which one feels the best for each of our ladies. Based on looks and brand she wants the Yamaha...but she always wants the best fit for herself.

My wife is the same height and weight as your and she loves her 2007 650R. We got it back in 2009 for $3000 and it had 2600 miles on it. She just passed the 18,000 mile mark last weekend.

She's got the Ninja? Have you had to replace the chain & sprockets yet? Sounds like she's putting some nice miles on it!

GeorgiaRoller....interesting dilemma you have, especially as I have almost the exact opposite. What I mean by that is that my wife owned a first year model FZ6 and really liked it....her only complaint was power.

Roll forward and I buy another FJR to replace the last one I sold those many years ago and I talk to the wife about her bike and she now wants a HD! LOL She really likes the looks of a FatBob but has not ridden one yet. So now we are hunting for a bike that will cost TWICE what my FJR did...oh well at least she will be on two wheels!

If I recall you are Griffin correct? I am in Locust Grove. We need to get together sometime and introduce the ladies to one another. My wife would appreciate hanging with another "biker girl".

I'm down in Barnesville so your not much more than 30 minutes from us.

Yeah you got the opposite problem all right. Tell your wife if she isn't happy with the power on a 600cc sportbike she's really gonna be upset if she gets a HD! :blink:

My wife had a HD 883L first then a customized 2007 HD StreetBob. It had the 96cu in motor which is 1584cc V-Twin that weighs 634lbs. It fit her well and she rode it well. But bikes like those are not really for riding the curves in the mountains and doing 400+ mile day rides or overnight rides which is what we both like to do. So now that I've gotten away from cruisers myself and have joined and I am enjoying the Sport Touring world she says she's ready to get a bike that's similar. She wants a sportier bike (non HD) that handles well and has sport suspension...etc.

Here's her with her old StreetBob...she's not interested in Harleys anymore! LOL

looking at those ape hangers on the Harley bars and she feels she needs another 1" pull back on the Yamaha?

 

[ynotride]

I replaced the chain and sprocket at 17,000 miles and two sets of tires. I did add a throttle lock, sliders and a double bubble tinted shield everything else is stock.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

looking at those ape hangers on the Harley bars and she feels she needs another 1" pull back on the Yamaha?

Believe it or not those ape hangers were surprisingly comfortable. You notice that big kick down angle on them? When you sat on that bike the hand position was right in front of you...not up high at all. I was surprised myself.

I replaced the chain and sprocket at 17,000 miles and two sets of tires. I did add a throttle lock, sliders and a double bubble tinted shield everything else is stock.

Awesome!!!

 

[jorstin]

My wife road a couple HD bikes for about 7yrs or so but has been without her own bike for 2yrs. She's ready to ride again and we went and looked first at the Yamaha FZ6R. We kind of wanted to stay in the Yamaha family and she really likes the look of the FZ6R. We don't want to buy brand new but we've been looking for either 2009 or 2010 models.

We went to the local metric dealer last weekend so she could sit on one. She's about 5'-6" and 120-125lbs. We looked at it for quite a long time, she sat on it several times...etc. For whatever reason the footpegs are in a weird position when she would be at a stop sign. Seems like her pant leg would always get hung up on the pegs and she'd either have to move her feet unnaturally forward or behind the footpegs. Also it seemed like she could really use another 1" or more of handlebar pullback. The 2012 model she was sitting on already had the adjustable seat at the lowest position & handlebars at this max. position backwards. Other than that she liked the bike. I mentioned we can get her some handlebar risers and drop the rear end an 1" or so and that might clear up those issues.

Then I noticed this other bike next to it, a Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Basically the exact same bike just a Kaw. I said why don't you try sitting on this one and see how it feels? Funny because just by me watching her body position she seemed way more natural and relaxed on this bike. The footpeg location is not an issue and her upper body seemed more relaxed. She confirmed that by saying it did actually seem to fit her much better.

I don't really know anything about these bikes but I see they did a makeover on this bike in 2009 and supposedly made several improvements on it over the 2006-2008 models. While it would be nice to have two Yamaha's what I'm much more interested in is helping her get a bike that fits her the best & one that she'd be the most comfortable & confident on.

So anyways we found a 2009 Ninja 650R from the original owner about an hour away from us with only 700 miles on it and he's asking $4,500.00 We're gonna go look at it tomorrow and see what happens. Here are his ad. pictures for it. It's completely stock.

Opinions?

One our forum riders from Northern CAL, his wife is of smaller stature and she just go the same bike but a 2012 and it fits her perfect

 

[Kevin_Ireland]

GeorgiaRoller....interesting dilemma you have, especially as I have almost the exact opposite. What I mean by that is that my wife owned a first year model FZ6 and really liked it, even rode it to Montreal, Canada and back with me on our "mega bike trip". She only wished it had more power and was looking at a liter bike before we got out of bikes for the past few years. Being 5'7" tall and around 130lbs my wife did not have the foot peg problem, as I said her only complaint was power.

Roll forward and I buy another FJR to replace the last one I sold those many years ago and I talk to the wife about her bike and she now wants a HD! LOL She really likes the looks of a FatBob but has not ridden one yet. So now we are hunting for a bike that will cost TWICE what my FJR did...oh well at least she will be on two wheels!

If I recall you are Griffin correct? I am in Locust Grove. We need to get together sometime and introduce the ladies to one another. My wife would appreciate hanging with another "biker girl".

She wants more power? Then she isn't going to like a Harley. Go to a HD dealership and have her take one for a test ride and do a roll on. She'll feel the extreme lack of power. My buddy has a Road King that he added a Hahn super charger to and it still doesn't feel like it has any power compared to the FJR.

 

[Kevin_Ireland]

I replaced the chain and sprocket at 17,000 miles and two sets of tires. I did add a throttle lock, sliders and a double bubble tinted shield everything else is stock.

Nice!!! and the bike isn't bad either!

 

[TwoWhldTerror]

[

She wants more power? Then she isn't going to like a Harley. Go to a HD dealership and have her take one for a test ride and do a roll on. She'll feel the extreme lack of power. My buddy has a Road King that he added a Hahn super charger to and it still doesn't feel like it has any power compared to the FJR.

I should have said that, at the time (years ago), she wanted more power. Now I think she just wants to cruise around and leave the touring to me and my mates. <_<

 

[Kevin_Ireland]

TwoWhldTerror I would still have her test ride one before you buy one. It's not just the lack of power it's the lack of cornering clearance, the ergonomics on most of the bikes etc.. I've own a few Harleys and I cannot conceive of me going back. Every time I see one and start to think about it I only have to be reminded of the maintenance issues. The lack of customer service from the dealerships (yes, more than one. It seems once they have your money they really don't give a ****) and just the small issues I had with the bikes. It's enough to make me stop looking. I still have friends who ride Harleys and even the one who rides the most only puts a fraction of the miles on his bike that I put on the FJR. I have more miles ridden in 6 months last year than he has in the past 3 years together.

When the wife started looking I asked her what kind of bike she wanted and she answered "I don't know, but not a cruiser and absolutely no Harley". LOL Even only being around bikes she knew better.

 

[ahchiu]

I replaced the chain and sprocket at 17,000 miles and two sets of tires. I did add a throttle lock, sliders and a double bubble tinted shield everything else is stock.

My questions is where does she put all that hair when riding? I know it won't fit in the helmet

 

[ynotride]

My questions is where does she put all that hair when riding? I know it won't fit in the helmet

I'm so glad you asked this question. My wife invented and patented a product specifically for long hair riders. It is called the wrapter and we have been pretty succesful the past two years selling them online and at the motorcycle shows. If anyone wants one for their wife send me a PM.

It rolls up like a condom (hair protection) her website is here Clicky

 

[ahchiu]

My questions is where does she put all that hair when riding? I know it won't fit in the helmet

I'm so glad you asked this question. My wife invented and patented a product specifically for long hair riders. It is called the wrapter and we have been pretty succesful the past two years selling them online and at the motorcycle shows. If anyone wants one for their wife send me a PM.

It rolls up like a condom (hair protection) her website is here Clicky

Nice, My wifes is about half that length, I think I will get one for her.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

We agreed to purchase the bike today. Gonna go back and pick it up next weekend. It's basically a brand new bike. Wife is pretty happy & excited.